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Why a knitting holiday is the relaxing escape we all need
If, like us, you've turned to crafting to take your mind off the pandemic this year, you'll know all about its benefits of keeping you calm throughout the toughest times.
As the experts say, crafts can help ease anxiety and boost your happiness to help improve your mental wellbeing.
It's all down to the practice of mindfulness and getting you into the 'flow' state, as psychotherapist Hilda Burke puts it. "This means you don't notice the time passing, aren't simultaneously thinking over other things," she says.
While it's hard to believe how much our lives changed this year, it's showed us how simple activities like crafting can help soothe us and provide comfort in uncertain times – and knitting, in particular, is the craft that relaxes us the most.
KNIT WITH PRIMA ON A MINI-BREAK
An excellent mood-booster, which 81% of people say makes them happier, knitting isn't just a wonderfully soothing lockdown activity. It's the one skill we'll be taking out of this situation and celebrating as the hobby that helped get us through a crisis.
That's why we're not dreaming of a trip to the beach or a campsite for our next escape but looking to the humble craft as the theme for our next staycation.
Set in the UK countryside, affordable and financially protected (in case you're feeling anxious about booking a trip right now), Prima's own knitting holiday is a great way to ease yourself back into the world of travel (without getting on a plane!) this November. Here are the reasons why you'll love it.
It keeps your creative juices flowing
Whether isolation threw you into the hobby as a newbie or you were keen to dust off your knitting needles, you'll want to keep honing your skills. Even as we ease out of lockdown, we've been spending our downtime working on projects like a cardigan, scarf, giant blanket and a dog jumper to keep our creativity flowing.
However you're spending your time getting crafty, a knitting holiday provides access to experts who can help you take things to the next level. On a mini-break this autumn, there'll be guidance from Prima's own experts (who happen to be a couple of the best in the UK!) and they'll be on hand to answer your niggling questions about knitting too.
Something to look forward to
Now, more than ever, we need pleasant things to look forward to, whether it's a glass of wine at the end of the day or a good soak in the bath. A knitting holiday at the end of the year is a wonderful way to end it on a high.
You can start thinking about how you'd like the experts to advise you on using different yarns and choosing the right colour palette for a new project. Now is also a great time to get practicing and think about the projects you'd like to achieve next, whether it's a Fair Isle jumper or a simple baby blanket (we've got plenty of free patterns for you to practice before the knitting holiday).
Get to know like-minded knitters
One of the most reassuring things about the crisis was that we weren't alone and we're all navigating this new normal together. We were also one of many who took up new hobbies, like knitting, and we're ready to travel to a beautiful place with like-minded knitters.
A knitting holiday offers a wonderful retreat where we can get to know others who spent their time in lockdown improving their skills and learning new tricks. It also gives us the chance to chat through ideas with others who share the same interests. You could even leave the trip having made new friends!
Reap the benefits of being in the country
Half of the benefits of a knitting escape is in the destination and nothing feels more serene than the freedom of being out in the country again. Set in the soothing Northamptonshire countryside, near the cute village of Chapel Brampton, Sedgebrook Hall is a relaxing location to get your creativity flowing in a gorgeous place.
The venue of our November knitting holiday, the country house sits in 13 acres of picturesque gardens, which you can walk around while you breathe in the fresh air. It's just what we need for a calming staycation that allows us to get crafty as we soak up the beauty of the great British countryside.
Want to put your new (or old) skills into practice on a knitting holiday in the UK? Prima's first knitting holiday takes place in November, with more dates in August 2021.READ ALL ABOUT IT
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